(The little girl was recently brought home by her family, where she belongs!)
I had found every picture I could of him. The one where he had an oxygen tube in his nose, before his surgery. The one of him the day after his surgery. The one of him playfully grabbing a playmates head. All the pictures touched me profoundly.
I could almost smell his baby smell and feel the softness of his hair (and oh how I love babies' heads!). I could imagine his playful self zooming around the room. I could almost hear his giggle as he ate a mango or something equally delicious.
I had begun to feel like he could really belong here, with us, as part of our family. I had hoped and prayed we could raise enough money. I prayed and hoped his adoption file would be completed so that we could even begin the process to bring him to where we knew he could belong.
And then, abruptly, we received a phone call telling us he had unexpectedly died on Sunday, January 12, 2014.
So I ponder the question, would I do it again, if I knew the outcome. Would I pore over his pictures and think and pray for him? Would I fall in love with him if I knew I would never hold him, or rock him to sleep, or hug him when he was afraid, or kiss him good night?
Yes, yes I would. How could I not? For I truly felt he could belong here with us as part of our family. We have been privileged to be born into a land of more freedom and opportunity than almost any other place on earth.
We are middle class all the way. Not rich. At least not by the world's standards. (My husband just recently got his first "smart phone" afterall! And I do not have one.)
But we are rich in so many ways. We have the love of each other. We belong together and wouldn't have it any other way. We know we are loved and belong to the God of the Universe. A God who loved us so much that He sacrificed His own Son so we could belong with Him, if we so choose.
So many children on this earth do not get to experience the love and belonging of a family or know of God's love and wanting them to belong to Him. No, we can't change the world but we can change the world for child. So why shouldn't we?! Will it cost money? Yes indeed. Will cost time, effort, hardships, worry, stress, invasion of one's privacy? Yes to all of those things. But if it give's one child the belonging they deserve it is worth every one of those things and more!
Goodbye for now our sweet Bo Yu. We loved you from afar.
